A high-speed variable gain amplifier (VGA) requires fast bipolar transistors to meet bandwidth and linearity requirements. A VGA comprising a front-end amplifier followed by an attenuator cannot meet the dynamic range requirement; therefore front-end gain must be switched. However, CMOS switches cannot be connected directly to the input signal due to voltage limitations, so they cannot be used to switch an input signal directly to high-impedance amplifier input terminals. Furthermore, the use of CMOS switches to switch low impedance components, such as gain-setting resistors, may distort frequency response due to CMOS switch non-linear resistance and capacitance.